The Twins’ pitching staff has endured a relatively turbulent month of June. That’s been especially noticeable in the rotation, which has had a shaky month.

But not Joe Ryan.

Ryan, who has been the Twins’ most consistent starter this season, gave the team exactly what it needed on Wednesday night, throwing six scoreless innings in the Twins’ 2-0 win over the Seattle Mariners at Target Field on Wednesday.

Ryan’s effort was badly needed and kept his team in the game on a quieter day for the offense. Within those six innings, he struck out Major League Baseball’s home run and RBI leader, Cal Raleigh, three times, catching him looking twice. Those three strikeouts came on a night in which Ryan recorded eight of them.

He negated a hit by pitch and a pair of errors behind him, allowed just three hits and did not see a runner reach third base in a dominant effort. With the performance, he lowered his ERA on the season to 2.86.

And he did so for a team that entered the day with a bloated collective ERA this month and was riding a five-game losing streak.

Ryan had limited run support in his start, but what he got ended up being just enough.

The Twins, who finished the day with just four hits of their own, finally got on the board in the sixth inning with a Willi Castro single, which brought home Byron Buxton. It was the only run the Twins would scratch across against Mariners starter George Kirby in his six innings of work.

An inning later, second baseman Kody Clemens gave the Twins a bit of breathing room, getting hold of a breaking ball and sending it out to left field. The opposite-field homer was his ninth of the season, a new career high for him.

That two-run lead was enough for Jhoan Duran, who responded to Tuesday’s effort in which he hit two batters and allowed the game-winning run in the ninth inning, with a perfect ninth inning on Wednesday. Louie Varland and Griffin Jax also threw scoreless innings in the Twins’ win.

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A St. Paul resident, Kelly Sofio, woke up this week and noticed her flagpole was on the ground and her pride flag was missing. Her husband found the flag vandalized on the ground down the street.

Sofio said she felt hurt and “then immediately angry.”

It was among 16 instances of vandalism of rainbow flags reported to St. Paul police in the Highland Park and Macalester-Groveland neighborhoods between Sunday and Wednesday afternoon.

Neighbors have been rallying together, buying more flags and signs and planning to display them in their yards.

A Highland Park resident has ordered rainbow flags and pride yard signs so she can hand them out. She’s not charging people and instead requesting they make a donation to an LGBTQ+ organization of their choice such as the Trevor Project or OutFront Minnesota.

The recent vandalism has made her feel scared, said Michelle, who asked that her last name not be used for her safety. She’s a member of the LGTBQ+ community and said her family was harassed in the past.

“In order to not feel scared, I went into action,” Michelle said of organizing to get flags to people.

Sofio, who described herself as an ally who flies the rainbow flag during Pride Month and other times of the year, discovered her Ring doorbell had recorded video shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday of a person taking down the flagpole on the front of her home, snapping the pole and then walking away with the flag.

When they later found the flag, it looked like it had been cut with a knife, Sofio said. Sofio had an older pride flag, which she “pretty immediately” hung outside her home.

“This community has been through so much,” Sofio said. “If you lived through the AIDS crisis in the ’80s and the ’90s and you lost people, and then, really, you’re going to be a coward and come at us with a mask on in the middle of the night, and you’re going to cut up our flag? … It made me really sad that there’s people like this now.”

Police asking people to check home surveillance video

Three of the cases have been on Jefferson Avenue, between the 1700 and 2000 blocks; another two were on the 1200 block of Palace Avenue and two more on the 1700 block of Bayard Avenue.

Police are investigating the reports they’ve received “under the assumption these cases are related, but with limited video and suspect information, we cannot say for certain,” said Nikki Muehlhausen, a St. Paul police spokesperson.

They’re urging people in the Highland Park and Macalester-Groveland neighborhoods to come forward if they have any surveillance footage that may show the suspect or related information.

Tips can be called into the department’s Western District at 651-266-5512 or by emailing charles.graupman@ci.stpaul.mn.us.

Flags, signs being distributed Friday

Lawrence and Kat Panas, who live in the same neighborhood as Sofio, woke up Tuesday morning and discovered their pride flag and a sign in their yard had been vandalized.

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They’ve responded by buying extra yard signs and offering them to anyone in the neighborhood who had theirs destroyed or who wants one. They also found some pride flags in stock around the Twin Cities, and are giving one to a neighbor whose flag was vandalized and another one as a gift.

People have contacted Michelle about the flags and signs she’ll be giving out. She plans to have them available outside Spyhouse Coffee Roasters on St. Paul’s Snelling Avenue Friday between noon and 1 p.m., and again from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. — people who’ve contacted her will get first priority, then residents of the neighborhood, and any extras will be for anyone who want them.

She’s encouraging people to put them in their yards, but consider taking them in for the evening, and taking a moment to meet a neighbor they haven’t.

A separate GoFundMe is fundraising for flags in the Mac-Groveland area.

Forest Lake Mayor Blake Roberts said Wednesday that he is worried the Forest Lake Area School Board will vote to repeal a ban on the wearing or displaying of the Confederate flag, swastika and KKK signs or symbols on school grounds.

“I think it’s repulsive that they’re even thinking about this,” Roberts told the Pioneer Press. “The fact that we’re even talking about this in 2025 is appalling.”

Forest Lake School Board Chairman Curt Rebelein and Mayor Blake Roberts. (Courtesy of Rebelein and Roberts)

Roberts addressed the issue publicly at the end of the Forest Lake City Council meeting on Monday night. He stated that he met with School Board Chairman Curt Rebelein last week and was dismayed by what he heard.

“It sounds as though he’s interested in removing that (language), so that that there will be an opportunity potentially for people to come to the school in Forest Lake here wearing those symbols of hatred, genocide and lynching,” Roberts said during the meeting. “This is not Forest Lake. We welcome everyone here, and this is a bad look.”

Rebelein, in turn, said Wednesday that he was “very disappointed” that the mayor was inserting himself in the discussion.

“He should take his own advice and stay in his own lane,” Rebelein said. “Mayor Roberts should focus on fiscal responsibility for the residents of Forest Lake. The massive tax increase that Forest Lake subjects residents to year after year is unsustainable for residents and negatively impacts our community and our schools. I’d also suggest that he read the actual text of the proposed policy. If he did, he would quickly realize that the text he is concerned about is monotonous and unnecessary. In fact, over 99 percent of the school districts in Minnesota do not include a list of prohibited items that Mayor Roberts believes to be necessary.”

Rebelein said he read all 331 dress codes across Minnesota school districts over the past week, and “only one other district has a list of prohibited items, and one district has a list of possible example items that may be prohibited.”

“Attempting to list offensive items results in bad policy,” he said. “This concern is why the state and national standard for student dress codes does not focus on itemizing offensive symbols and instead utilizes the language provided by the Supreme Court that anything that materially disrupts the educational process is prohibited. … The other 328 districts across the state utilize the ‘Tinker standard’ and choose not to list prohibited or offensive items. At the moment, Forest Lake has the most prohibitive and ambiguous dress code in the state.”

Policy No. 515

The school board in May held a first reading of the original proposed version of Policy No. 515 that would have followed Minnesota School Board Association model language and removed specific bans on symbols such as swastikas, the KKK and the Confederate flag on clothing.

At the time, Rebelein said the board wanted to align the district’s policies with Minnesota School Board Association recommendations, adhere to state and federal laws, and “provide a consistent process for all activities.”

“This is based on recommendations from our school district attorneys,” Rebelein said at the time. “The proposed policies utilize thoroughly vetted model policies provided by the Minnesota School Board Association, and contain necessary language that does not currently exist in policy … to ensure the district complies with relevant statutes.”

Superintendent Steve Massey told the board in May that the ban was implemented in 1997 after an African-American student was surrounded by a group of students after school and was physically assaulted. The next day, a group of students wore white T-shirts to school to show their support of the racial assault.

Massey told that board that it is important that the specific ban of the three symbols remain in Policy No. 515.

School board meeting Thursday

Roberts said Wednesday that he has reached out to the other school board members and hopes to hear back so he can express the same sentiment.

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“All you have to do is Google ‘Forest Lake,’ and this is the crap that comes up right now,” Roberts said at the council meeting on Monday night. “I am extremely upset about this. I will be speaking at the school board meeting on Thursday against it. I’ve reached out to a number of board members, and I will continue to do so. Forest Lake is much better than this, and we cannot let this happen to our school and to our community.”

Roberts said Wednesday that he expects the school board meeting to be packed on Thursday.

“I really do believe that elected officials should stay in their own lane and not try to get into the business of another board, but on something like this, I have to speak out,” Roberts said. “Our staff, our council, all of our employees, we can do as much as we want to try and bring business and new residents to our city, but if all you have to do is Google ‘Forest Lake’ and some of this stuff comes up, we’re just wasting our time because people don’t want to live in an area where this is even being considered.”

The Forest Lake school board meets at 6 p.m. Thursday in the District Office Boardroom, 6100 N. 210th St.

By JAKE COYLE

NEW YORK (AP) — Denis Villeneuve is going from “Dune” to Bond.

Amazon MGM Studios announced Wednesday that Villeneuve will direct the next James Bond movie. The untitled film will be the first since the studio took creative reins of the storied film franchise after decades of control by the Broccoli family.

Producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman had maintained that before the next Bond is cast, they would develop a screenplay and find a director first. Now, they have one of the most respected blockbuster makers in Hollywood, who’s coming off a pair of widely acclaimed “Dune” films.

In a statement, the 57-year-old French Canadian filmmaker said he grew up watching Bond movies.

“I’m a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory,” said Villeneuve. “I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come. This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor.”

Since taking creative control of Bond in February, Amazon MGM has worked quickly to get the next movie going. The studio is also trying to win over fans skeptical of the new corporate leadership and the fearful of future spinoffs.

“James Bond is in the hands of one of today’s greatest filmmakers,” said Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios.

With Pascal and Heyman lodged as producers and Villeneuve behind the camera, the next Bond movie will have an enviable brain trust. Villeneuve beat out a field of directors floated for the movie including Edward Berger (“Conclave”), Paul King (“Paddington 2”), Edgar Wright (“Baby Driver”) and Jonathan Nolan, co-creator of “Westworld” and brother to Christopher Nolan.

“Denis Villeneuve has been in love with James Bond movies since he was a little boy,” said Pascal and Heyman. “It was always his dream to make this movie, and now it’s ours, too.”

No release date has been announced for the next Bond movie. Villeneuve will shoot the third “Dune” film this summer. If production on Bond began next year, a release sometime in 2027 would be likely.

Villenevue’s first two “Dune” films have together surpassed $1 billion in box office worldwide and been nominated for a combined 15 Academy Awards, winning seven. His other films include “Blade Runner 2049,” “Arrival,” “Sicario,” “Prisoners,” “Enemy” and “Incendies.”

Amazon bought MGM Studios in 2022 for $8.5 billion, but didn’t gain creative control of the studio’s most prized asset until this year. Until this film, every Bond director has been handpicked by the Broccolis.